Buttler hails 'world class' Morgan

Jos Buttler described Eoin Morgan as "world class" after the pair had combined to help England to a six-wicket win over India in the second T20 international and square the series at 1-1. With England needing three runs for victory, Morgan, England's stand-in captain, hit the last ball of the match for six to end unbeaten on 49 and complete his team's highest successful run chase in the format.

Buttler also played his part, hitting two crucial boundaries during the penultimate over, bowled by Parvinder Awana. He and Morgan added 32 runs from 13 balls to make sure England got over the line after an opening stand of 80 between Alex Hales and Michael Lumb had set them on their way, only for Yuvraj Singh to again menace the tourists during the middle overs.

"We're really pleased to get that victory. It was a world-class finish from a world-class finisher in Eoin Morgan," Buttler said.

"He was very confident and that rubbed off on me. It's a great Christmas present. It was a world-class performance from everyone and everyone's delighted to get a win."

After winning the toss, Morgan was vindicated in his decision to bowl first, despite a mixed display from England's attack. Only Tim Bresnan and James Tredwell showed the requisite control on a fast surface and a sixth-wicket partnership of 60 from 27 balls between MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina threatened to take the game out of England's reach.

"It was a hell of a game of cricket," Morgan said. "It was a great pitch to be prepared for a Twenty20 game and both sides were in the game throughout the whole 40 overs, which was great to see."

"The stats suggest, particularly at this stadium, that chasing predominantly wins, so it was part and parcel of what we looked at and we backed ourselves to chase down or even set a good score."

While India dropped two catches and leaked runs with a poor display in the field, England worked hard to back up their bowlers and Morgan praised the fielding by his young side. "It was outstanding," he said. "It's an area that we've looked at where we can be ahead of the game and save 10 or 15 runs each time, and today we were amazing."

Dhoni, who joint top-scored for India with 38, and Yuvraj both suggested that the dew had been a factor for the side bowling second. But while Dhoni was pleased with the way his side fought throughout the match, he admitted India had made their task harder by allowing England's openers to quickly get on top of the run chase.

"What was vital was the start. I don't think we started really well, we were a fraction short," Dhoni said. "As in the last game, we came back nicely, the bowlers started doing well again, but it was difficult. We gave up too many runs in the first six overs."

@jmcilhinney Thanks and let me say - I support every Irish player who elects for England to play tests. It is the pinnacle of the game and while that is not available for us, I do not begrudge any player (be it Rankin, Morgan or shortly the barely 20/21 Dockrell and Stirling - both fantastic talents as County teams have found out this year) electing to play for England. I seek tests for Ireland as we have proved ourselves over the last 10 years in all forms of the game to be the best associate - a developer of talent and our upset ability in world cups seems now to be a given. I long for the day that William Porterfield leads out Ireland against Zimbabwe in a test match in Malahide or Stormont and therein lies another subtle gift in the ICC's ability to grant. No sport - not even rugby, has the ability to pull an Island together like cricket. Award us minor Test status - because we are as deserving as others - and then as a happy byproduct a gift to support a healing island.

jmcilhinney
on December 24, 2012, 4:20 GMT

@Simon Power on (December 24 2012, 01:29 AM GMT), I definitely support the idea of making Ireland a Test nation. The ICC did get their fingers burned a bit with Bangladesh so are understandably reluctant to rush into anything. Obviously we would all like to see as many nations playing Test cricket as possible but, if the standard isn't high enough, it may turn a number of potential fans off the game and hurt rather than help the plight of Test cricket. The fact that Ireland are setting up their own FC system is great and should be a major positive in their development. As an England fan, much has he's been a big positive in the England limited-overs teams, I'd have been as happy for Morgan to stay with Ireland to give them as strong a side as possible. I can't fault him for wanting to give himself the best chance of the most fulfilling career possible though. Right now, I'd like to see the Lions playing 4-day FC games against Ireland on a regular basis.

on December 24, 2012, 1:29 GMT

@ jmcilhinney Yes your right ... can we have him back please? In all seriousness, we are nowhere near ready for big time tests but I would quite fancy a plan which includes tests v Bangladesh, Zimbabwae and perhaps New Zealand in 2015.... I think we could hold our own there and isnt the plan to widen the appeal of the game? To be fair the ICC are putting in money, we're setting up a first class structure - and with Dockrell, Stirling, Joyce, OBrien x2 we have the makings of a team that wouldnt be embarrased given the opportunity.

Whatsgoinoffoutthere
on December 23, 2012, 15:54 GMT

@Warren Smith: you appear to have overlooked the fact that our team represents the England and WALES cricket board, and that players from other countries in the union may also be selected. Additionally, who trained and nurtured the talent that by an accident of geography was born elsewhere?

Whatsgoinoffoutthere
on December 23, 2012, 14:31 GMT

Mentally, I think Yuvraj is the closest current player to Ian Botham and Shane Warne. He seems to have such an unshakeable belief in himself. Like Botham, he has a golden arm and picks up wickets with deliveries that are on the face of it nothing special. He seems to adopt Warne's philosophy of not having to actually do anything unusual, just to make the batsman think he is.

It's a shame his Test performances haven't quite matched his limited-overs record, but the way he went about his four overs really made me smile, and I'm an England fan. This match was the better of the two tewnty20s by a long way because it was a contest, not just because England won it. It would have been worth the entry fee just to see those four overs and Morgan's last-ball six.

jmcilhinney
on December 23, 2012, 12:01 GMT

@Warren Smith on (December 23 2012, 09:27 AM GMT), perhaps you missed Hales, Wright and Buttler playing the last two games.

jmcilhinney
on December 23, 2012, 11:55 GMT

@Simon Power on (December 23 2012, 01:01 AM GMT), it was a fine performance from Morgan but did you happen to catch him playing in any Test matches for England? Not the best advertisement for making Ireland a Test nation.

JG2704
on December 23, 2012, 9:52 GMT

@Saud Choudhry on (December 23 2012, 05:31 AM GMT) The early stuff from Dindan and the other seamer was basically a load of junk but I get the feeling he was bowling short pitch stuff early on at Dhoni's request. His last over showed discipline and guile , negating Jos's scoop shot by following the batsman's actions and pitching the ball up to yorker/near yorker length. Even the final delivery was no gimme and Morgan struck the ball sweetly. 9 runs is relatively tough to defend against 2 set batsmen in this format. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say well played to the batsmen

on December 23, 2012, 9:27 GMT

Morgan seems to be very good at the 'bash the bowler' game. Not so good at cricket unfortunately. Would love to see some Englishmen come through for England soon.

jackluvscricket
on December 23, 2012, 6:40 GMT

Eoin Morgan showed he is a world class player. Lumb played beautifully for England. Nobody except Yuvraj bowled a good one over. Superb batting by Kohli and Raina but lost the match mainly because of bowlers. England deserved to win and they won.

on December 25, 2012, 3:02 GMT

@jmcilhinney Thanks and let me say - I support every Irish player who elects for England to play tests. It is the pinnacle of the game and while that is not available for us, I do not begrudge any player (be it Rankin, Morgan or shortly the barely 20/21 Dockrell and Stirling - both fantastic talents as County teams have found out this year) electing to play for England. I seek tests for Ireland as we have proved ourselves over the last 10 years in all forms of the game to be the best associate - a developer of talent and our upset ability in world cups seems now to be a given. I long for the day that William Porterfield leads out Ireland against Zimbabwe in a test match in Malahide or Stormont and therein lies another subtle gift in the ICC's ability to grant. No sport - not even rugby, has the ability to pull an Island together like cricket. Award us minor Test status - because we are as deserving as others - and then as a happy byproduct a gift to support a healing island.

jmcilhinney
on December 24, 2012, 4:20 GMT

@Simon Power on (December 24 2012, 01:29 AM GMT), I definitely support the idea of making Ireland a Test nation. The ICC did get their fingers burned a bit with Bangladesh so are understandably reluctant to rush into anything. Obviously we would all like to see as many nations playing Test cricket as possible but, if the standard isn't high enough, it may turn a number of potential fans off the game and hurt rather than help the plight of Test cricket. The fact that Ireland are setting up their own FC system is great and should be a major positive in their development. As an England fan, much has he's been a big positive in the England limited-overs teams, I'd have been as happy for Morgan to stay with Ireland to give them as strong a side as possible. I can't fault him for wanting to give himself the best chance of the most fulfilling career possible though. Right now, I'd like to see the Lions playing 4-day FC games against Ireland on a regular basis.

on December 24, 2012, 1:29 GMT

@ jmcilhinney Yes your right ... can we have him back please? In all seriousness, we are nowhere near ready for big time tests but I would quite fancy a plan which includes tests v Bangladesh, Zimbabwae and perhaps New Zealand in 2015.... I think we could hold our own there and isnt the plan to widen the appeal of the game? To be fair the ICC are putting in money, we're setting up a first class structure - and with Dockrell, Stirling, Joyce, OBrien x2 we have the makings of a team that wouldnt be embarrased given the opportunity.

Whatsgoinoffoutthere
on December 23, 2012, 15:54 GMT

@Warren Smith: you appear to have overlooked the fact that our team represents the England and WALES cricket board, and that players from other countries in the union may also be selected. Additionally, who trained and nurtured the talent that by an accident of geography was born elsewhere?

Whatsgoinoffoutthere
on December 23, 2012, 14:31 GMT

Mentally, I think Yuvraj is the closest current player to Ian Botham and Shane Warne. He seems to have such an unshakeable belief in himself. Like Botham, he has a golden arm and picks up wickets with deliveries that are on the face of it nothing special. He seems to adopt Warne's philosophy of not having to actually do anything unusual, just to make the batsman think he is.

It's a shame his Test performances haven't quite matched his limited-overs record, but the way he went about his four overs really made me smile, and I'm an England fan. This match was the better of the two tewnty20s by a long way because it was a contest, not just because England won it. It would have been worth the entry fee just to see those four overs and Morgan's last-ball six.

jmcilhinney
on December 23, 2012, 12:01 GMT

@Warren Smith on (December 23 2012, 09:27 AM GMT), perhaps you missed Hales, Wright and Buttler playing the last two games.

jmcilhinney
on December 23, 2012, 11:55 GMT

@Simon Power on (December 23 2012, 01:01 AM GMT), it was a fine performance from Morgan but did you happen to catch him playing in any Test matches for England? Not the best advertisement for making Ireland a Test nation.

JG2704
on December 23, 2012, 9:52 GMT

@Saud Choudhry on (December 23 2012, 05:31 AM GMT) The early stuff from Dindan and the other seamer was basically a load of junk but I get the feeling he was bowling short pitch stuff early on at Dhoni's request. His last over showed discipline and guile , negating Jos's scoop shot by following the batsman's actions and pitching the ball up to yorker/near yorker length. Even the final delivery was no gimme and Morgan struck the ball sweetly. 9 runs is relatively tough to defend against 2 set batsmen in this format. Sometimes you have to hold your hands up and say well played to the batsmen

on December 23, 2012, 9:27 GMT

Morgan seems to be very good at the 'bash the bowler' game. Not so good at cricket unfortunately. Would love to see some Englishmen come through for England soon.

jackluvscricket
on December 23, 2012, 6:40 GMT

Eoin Morgan showed he is a world class player. Lumb played beautifully for England. Nobody except Yuvraj bowled a good one over. Superb batting by Kohli and Raina but lost the match mainly because of bowlers. England deserved to win and they won.

on December 23, 2012, 5:55 GMT

In a complete turn around, it has not been so much of England's speed but the spin
that has largely accounted for their victories aganist India - the traditional spinners on their home grounds./ I think India has some work ahead in both depts. ......

on December 23, 2012, 5:31 GMT

Dinda bowls the way he dresses. The man has no style. He just runs in and throws it as hard as he can. There is guile; there is brain work and there is this cat and mouse game with the batsmen, which the best bowlers play. Dinda knows none of that. His chances of becoming a permanant member of the team is close to zero.

on December 23, 2012, 5:27 GMT

I guess the assessment could've been very different if the last ball had turned out differently. I guess T20 is like that, you need extra adjectives to wipe the reality... that "chance" is the biggest factor in T20. Anyway, T20i is better than T20 leagues, where its hard to figure out whom to support.

on December 23, 2012, 4:02 GMT

Yuvraj is good bowler in the short format to keep the runs down but in test cricket he looks toothless. Yuvi needs to just focus on the shorter formats and India to start buildings younger team. I also think India should bring rohit sharma into the test team as i really think with good guidance time to settle in he will be one of the best batsmen in the current test team.

landl47
on December 23, 2012, 3:55 GMT

It was a very good wicket and the fact that a wicket as good as this could be prepared makes the abomination at Nagpur seem all the more shameful. At least that worked in England's favour, so maybe India will rethink the type of wickets being prepared for test matches.

Sinhaya
on December 23, 2012, 3:53 GMT

Fantastic stuff by England. They just showed that Hales and Buttler are well placed to build a formidable batting lineup.

jmcilhinney
on December 23, 2012, 3:16 GMT

The enthusiasm with which Morgan hugged Buttler at the end of the game showed just how much the win meant to him. That was really good to see.

on December 23, 2012, 2:43 GMT

Picture Perfect finish...great show by Morgan...reminded me of Javed Miandad's famous six against India in Sharjah.

on December 23, 2012, 1:01 GMT

This Ireland place can produce some decent cricketers eh? Perhaps we should give them a go in tests?

In an earlier interview Rayudu said that when the score was 87 @ 10 overs:
On a pitch like this ( Bombay ) in the second ten overs 100 runs can be scored...
India scored a 10 runs less and made the target reacheable...

Herath-UK
on December 22, 2012, 21:44 GMT

Buttler himself proved he deserves a permanent place in the team,if Patel remained not out England would have lost.England's winning ensured Sri Lanka remained the top team in the T20.
Ranil Herath - Kent

on December 22, 2012, 21:41 GMT

Yeah brilliant win but lets be honest here, an Irishman won the game for England otherwise India would've won that game comfortably but this just shows in my view that a nation like Ireland deserve to play full time Cricket and we should be supportive of that for the betterment of Cricket especially when they know the game well and have wonderful talent.

kamiCric
on December 22, 2012, 20:52 GMT

Reminds me that last ball six by Javed Miandad against India in Sharjah. Yes truly world class. Would the riches follow Morgan too? a lucrative IPL contract maybe?

on December 22, 2012, 20:49 GMT

India bow under twenty/20 pressure. Lack of strategy to close. Aswihn, Awana, Chawla and Dinda threw away the game. Dhoni was helpless. After the first six overs, he could have tried Raina, Kholi. Sharma or Ghambir with Yuvraj on one end for an over from these other guys who floftef it.

"C" grade fielding from India.

SurlyCynic
on December 22, 2012, 20:19 GMT

Yuvraj is turning into a very useful bowling allrounder.

No featured comments at the moment.

SurlyCynic
on December 22, 2012, 20:19 GMT

Yuvraj is turning into a very useful bowling allrounder.

on December 22, 2012, 20:49 GMT

India bow under twenty/20 pressure. Lack of strategy to close. Aswihn, Awana, Chawla and Dinda threw away the game. Dhoni was helpless. After the first six overs, he could have tried Raina, Kholi. Sharma or Ghambir with Yuvraj on one end for an over from these other guys who floftef it.

"C" grade fielding from India.

kamiCric
on December 22, 2012, 20:52 GMT

Reminds me that last ball six by Javed Miandad against India in Sharjah. Yes truly world class. Would the riches follow Morgan too? a lucrative IPL contract maybe?

on December 22, 2012, 21:41 GMT

Yeah brilliant win but lets be honest here, an Irishman won the game for England otherwise India would've won that game comfortably but this just shows in my view that a nation like Ireland deserve to play full time Cricket and we should be supportive of that for the betterment of Cricket especially when they know the game well and have wonderful talent.

Herath-UK
on December 22, 2012, 21:44 GMT

Buttler himself proved he deserves a permanent place in the team,if Patel remained not out England would have lost.England's winning ensured Sri Lanka remained the top team in the T20.
Ranil Herath - Kent

on December 22, 2012, 22:50 GMT

In an earlier interview Rayudu said that when the score was 87 @ 10 overs:
On a pitch like this ( Bombay ) in the second ten overs 100 runs can be scored...
India scored a 10 runs less and made the target reacheable...